I took a new part time job recently as the front-end designer for The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. (By the way, I moved to Seattle!) Don’t worry I’m still freelancing despite what my outdated site may convey. While Tin Cans is still alive and well I’m excited about this new opportunity and the benefits that this new position will bring.

Hurrah for friends!

I was a part of a team back when I worked as a computer technician for Murfreesboro City Schools but not since setting out as a full time designer. I’m fine working on my own and think I balance that pretty well, but to create something with a group of others is very exciting.

The core team will consist of a web designer (myself), visual designer, content coordinator, social media extraordinaire, a project manager, and a fearless leader that keeps us all on target. I’ve butchered their official titles and hope I didn’t forget anyone (I’ve only been there two days and have a terrible memory, give me a break.) but you get the idea.

Focus

Working on short projects is nice because you don’t really get tired of working on a site before it’s time to start the next, but I’ve always wondered what it would be like to center your attention on a single or small number of projects. There are always features and options at the end of projects that get overlooked or left off due to time and budget constraints or changes and different ways of implementing features that you wish you would’ve been able to go back and “fix”. Now this becomes much less of an issue as we’ll have the time to not only evaluate decisions that are made but we’ll also have the opportunity to look back on choices and adapt as we move forward. As with any site, over time, priorities and features change and we’ll be able to adjust to meet those needs.

One Role

Not only will I be working on one main product or brand but I’ll also get to focus solely on front end development. For me in this role, front end development means WordPress. I know I’ll still be overlapping into other roles from time to time, as will the others (which is a good thing), but not having to worry about all the extra stuff that is a necessity as a freelancer will be nice. Things like keeping track of invoices, getting new clients, keep current clients, proposals, estimates, making sure people pay on time, the list goes on. Basically all the stuff I didn’t really sign up for when I decided to be a freelancer, but comes with the territory. Less overall worry and headache will be welcomed with open arms as I hone in on this new role.

I’m sure there will be more advantages, and disadvantages, of this new position but I’m excited and ready to find out. Any tips from someone who has worked on a small team or focused on a single brand? Thanks for reading!